AS a concerned mother and breadwinner who had to find a permanent job, Mrs Rosemary Terri did what she thought was best for her family.
The single mother of five children has over years been able to efficiently managed to run the basic survival needs of her family in a more gifted way.
“As a single mother to raise five children on my own was a very tough encounter. I have tried my best to find a job and luckily in 2015, I was offered a permanent housekeeping job at the Solomon Islands Development Trust (SIDT) office in Honiara’s New China Town.
“My job’s salary had indeed helped me to meet and sustain the basic needs and wants of my family. At the moment am very comfortable with my job as a housekeeper,” she says.
Whist taking on the challenge of a single working mother, Rosemary had to ensure that the education of her children was one of her major priorities. Apart from her permanent job, she had to venture into other smaller business activities to meet the social and financial needs of her family.
“I had to priorities the education needs of my children; more especially with school fee payments and other school requirements. It’s quite a challenging task for me, but I taught myself to be strong and to never give up.
“Apart from relying on my salary as a source of income, I had to bake and sell buns, ring cakes, cooked foods and garden root crops to sustain our livelihood,” she added.
Today, many career single women strive to achieve economic independence. Those who are not employed invest to ensure that they have a source of income. But as they pursue this goal, some fail to strike a balance between financial empowerment and family’s stability.
Rosemary encourages single mothers in the country to simply pursue financial independence without forgetting social responsibilities to provide the basic needs of their families.
“Being brought up by a single mother is a huge challenge for the children. There is a major emotional gap in every family member and it is not easy for me to provide security and everyday necessities but I learn to never give up and to possess a strong heart to take on the challenges.
“Due to the high standard of living and lack of employment opportunities in Honiara, so too we single need to adjust to such changes. To ensure a stable, successful future for our children growing up in these situations, we need to be strong and be committed single mothers,” she added.
Rosemary has managed to build a permanent house for her children at Koa Hill Community in Central Honiara.
